President of the European Council states that, in a trade agreement of this magnitude, “it is clear that, in some cases, it is better for some, in other cases, it is better for others”
The president of the European Council, António Costa, stated that criticism coming from some agricultural sectors in Europe is based on wrong perceptions of the trade agreement with Mercosur that will be signed this Saturday.
“I think that this debate in Europe is very much based on a completely wrong perception of what is foreseen in the agreement”, argued António Costa on Friday, speaking to the press in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.
The president of the European Council, who leaves for Asunción this Saturday to sign the trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, also stressed that “all studies indicate, and the Commission has on the Commission’s website, country by country, what is the impact on the economy of each of the European countries of this agreement”.
“And even in the agricultural sector, there are, let’s say, three or four sectors where competition will be the strongest for Latin American and Mercosur countries. It’s beef, sugar, chicken and some dairy products”, he recalled, stating, however, that even in these areas “the quotas that are established are very low quotas”, varying between 1.4% and 1.6% of European production.
“Therefore, this competition, yes, it will be competition, but that is part of economic life. There is no economic life without competition. But it is competition that is very limited”, he defended.
The former prime minister also recalled that Europe achieved in the agreement “the recognition of hundreds of dominations of origin of cheese, wine and olive oil, which are products of great value in many countries, for example, in France”, one of the countries that opposed the agreement.
“Therefore, this idea that farmers in general are against it is not correct”, he stated, adding that, in a trade agreement of this size, “it is clear that, in some cases, it is better for some, in other cases, it is better for others”.
“It will be a historic day because we will finally sign an agreement that is the largest trade agreement in the world and which began to be negotiated 25 years ago”, he said, using a similar tone to the president of the European Commission.
“The EU-Mercosur Agreement sends a powerful message. It says: welcome to the largest market in the world and the largest free trade zone on the planet”, emphasized Ursula von der Leyen, in Rio de Janeiro, alongside the head of state of Brazil, Lula da Silva, one of the main drivers for the agreement to finally come to fruition.
In a meeting at the Itamaraty Palace, in Rio de Janeiro, which was not attended by António Costa, due to the cancellation of a flight, the European leader highlighted that the agreement represents “the strength of friendship and understanding between peoples and regions separated by oceans” and that this is how “real prosperity, shared prosperity” is created.
The signing of the agreement between the European Union (EU) and the four Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil Paraguay and Uruguay) was only possible after, last week, the 27 countries of the European Union reached a qualified majority to validate the agreement, despite votes against by France (main opponent), Poland, Austria, Ireland and Hungary, and Belgium’s abstention.
To reach a qualified majority it was necessary to negotiate additional safeguards for European farmers, who have continued to demonstrate in recent days against the agreement, and which served to convince Italy, but were not enough for Paris to also join.
The agreement will eliminate tariffs for 91% of EU exports to Mercosur and 92% of South American sales to Europe, opening a combined market of more than 700 million consumers and which, together, represent a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of approximately 22 billion dollars (19 billion euros), according to data from the European Commission.
The signing of the trade agreement will be attended by, in addition to the president of the European Commission and the president of the European Council, the foreign ministers of the countries that make up Mercosur and the current leader of the South American bloc, the President of Paraguay, Santiago Peña.
